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Ms. Nature is fastidious this spring and appears to be picking Saturday as her watering day. We’re rained-out… again! I know, bummer! Spend your time cleaning. Melt cheese on something. We’ll give it a shot again next week. We have plenty of Saturdays left.

Hey, we thought we’d share something interesting with you all about putting on these events. As far as we know, we’re the largest and oldest weekly gathering of exotic and rare cars in the US. It gives us goosebumps. Whoops, sorry, I guess it’s a rash.

Did you know I could have been a world-class poll vaulter if it wasn’t for my love of pastries?

Yes, some car gatherings are larger, but they are only monthly, not weekly, and not devoted to exotic and rare cars. Doing this every week is an entirely different species. We continually share what we know about building a successful event, yet so many have their own ideas and ultimately face-plant their event in the freshly-laid cow pie of life.

When we began, we used a technique called “inversion thinking” not to be confused with what is a common criticism of rectal-cranial inversion which while it may be a cousin, isn’t what we’re thinking. Inversion thinking is starting with the premise of what can go wrong then trying to solve every conceivable problem before it becomes a problem. We also thought about what would make the best possible experience from the moment you arrive. Nick will even lick the parking lot if we’d let him.

The event was built around solutions to problems we were thinking about. (BTW, don’t you wish you applied that before you got “involved” with that now-not-so-special someone? Hmmm?) The remaining event is the result of inversion thinking. This is also a little tip; it’s a great way to build a business for those of you with an entrepreneurial bug. Better to deal with that bug than the one you got at that truck stop bathroom in Mexico. You know the one.

You can see how such an event can devolve into problems such as the ones they are having at the Scottsdale Motorsports Gathering, which you can read here. We see this happen often if you don’t try and solve problems before they happen. We worry about it happening to us. It’s why we always need plenty of volunteers. We wish them success with their relaunch, and we’re willing to share anything we know as we’d love to see more events around the US thrive. If the organizers get in touch with us, we will share everything we know. Still, once the problems start, it’s hard to get that pissed-off cat back under control. What’s helped us build a successful event is all of you participating in the policing of E@RTC. It’s because of your support and good manners that we are still here and we’re very appreciative of your contribution.

We’re about pulling a car community together for mutual fun and we know there are always going to be those self-absorbed who want to ruin it for everyone. Our job, with your help, is to not let them.